On to part three of the Maslow series of posts – activities.

I started jotting down some of the things I really like to do and came up with these:

• Enjoyable job
• Eating out
• Travel
• Photography
• Movies, concerts and TV shows
• Running
• Golf
• Mountain biking
• Downhill skiing

When I look at the Maslow chart, these things jump all over the place: food, achievement, confidence, creativity – not really a clean match for any one thing or section.

Just like in the “stuff” list, a lot of my favorite activities cost money. I’d probably ski a lot more if it weren’t so expensive, I’ve passed on many concerts because of ticket prices and places like Iceland, Switzerland and Bali are still on the dream list. This is a tough line for me to walk, though, as life gets pretty boring if you don’t live it.

An enjoyable job is a key piece of the puzzle for me, as you spend so much of your life doing it. Ideally it also helps contribute to your financial goals and should cover many of the higher level needs in the esteem and self-actualization categories.

Physical activities have always been important to me – they relieve stress, improve health and provide a way to set and achieve goals. Running has been the key one for me, but I also love golf, skiing and biking.

While most of these activities can be done with other people, I’ll leave that discussion for the fourth and final post…